


If Only for a Moment, The World Would Fall Away.

by theangelsace



Category: MASH (TV)
Genre: Kissing, M/M, Mild Blood, Mild Sexual Content, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-14 09:13:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28792980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theangelsace/pseuds/theangelsace
Summary: Hawkeye had been looking forward to a well deserved break, of course he should have known better. This was Korea, and the best laid plans never did run smooth.
Relationships: B. J. Hunnicutt/Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce
Comments: 4
Kudos: 22





	If Only for a Moment, The World Would Fall Away.

It was a first that Hawkeye had started to think would never happen; a week of rest and relaxation in Tokyo with BJ. The last two times the war had gotten in the way, and so they had to cancel their leave. Before that, the idea of both of them away at the same time would have been laughed out of the room, because those were the days Frank was still around, and Colonel Potter wanted at least one other competent surgeon on hand. He had a point, Hawkeye had to admit. Frank's presence has been about as pointless as the war itself. This time though, they were going, even if Hawkeye had to whisk them away in the middle of the night. They needed this.

“What do you think?” BJ asked from across the swamp.

“About?” Hawkeye returned, because there was any number of things that BJ could be referring to. From what did he think the weather was going to be like in Tokyo, to the possibility of this nightmare ever coming to an end.

“About the dress uniform, is it necessary?”

“Oh, that" he said, as he gave BJ an appraising once over, eyes lingering slightly longer than truly necessary, because damn if he didn’t look good in it. “I’m afraid so. You know the army, always after further advertisement”. That was part of the reason at least, he was sure, he tended not to keep up with all the rules and regulations bestowed upon them by the United States army.

“Well, it’s only until we get to Tokyo, I guess" BJ replied, looking down at himself, and across at Hawkeye. He couldn’t be sure, but he could have sworn that BJ's eyes stayed on him passed the acceptable societal norm. “Then we can take them off and throw them in a corner" And, yeah they definitely needed this week.

“A man after my own heart” Hawkeye said, hands placed over the left of his chest. As if that wasn’t already the case. Truth be told, that had been BJ's for how long he couldn’t say for certain; but it was sometime around his spell of nightmares, he’d woken up the following morning cocooned in the arms and legs of his tent mate. There had been no initial panic, no crisis of any sort. Just a deep feeling of comfort, and that morning he had pretended to be asleep for as long as he could. Of course, BJ had noticed that he was awake, but he didn’t say anything either. They talked later about it, of course; when everyone else was asleep. About whether it would be just that time, or if it would again. It wasn’t, by far, any excuse they could find saw them climbing into the others cot; if the temperature had dropped a couple of degrees, or they had just come off another eighteen hour shift. About what else would happen. They didn’t know, BJ had said that he and Peg were working through things, and keeping themselves together from different sides of the world was proving impossible. So, they behaved nothing more than sharing a bed, and making sure they got a good night’s sleep. If there was the odd kiss on the forehead or cheek here and there, they weren’t counting.

The day that BJ had gotten a letter from Peg, saying that they could try and start again when he got back from Korea, Hawkeye hadn’t known what to do. Her letter had said that whilst they were apart there would be no consequences if anything were to happen. It took an hour for Radar to put the call through, but he did it. Really, they should know better than to doubt him. Hawkeye had sat on Radar's cot and listened for what had seemed like forever, as BJ and Peg talked things through. By the end, he was sat next to BJ, arm around his shoulders, as BJ had quietly cried. There was no one around to see them, Radar was guarding the door in from the compound, and had even roped Klinger into doing the same for the door into the ward.

That night when they went to bed, Hawkeye hadn't know if he was welcome, or not. BJ, and Peg hadn’t separated, as such, but it was almost certain that they would. The only trouble was, Hawkeye didn’t know what Beej wanted from him. Whether he wanted for them to carry on, or put an end to it and never speak about it again. His worries and questions were answered when an hour after lights out BJ had climbed in next to him. It turned out that they had both been lying awake for an hour thinking the same thing. That maybe something more could happen. It did. Not straight away, for the first couple of weeks, their routine remained the same.

Then, about a month later when Korea was in the midst of yet another terrible winter, and the fighting had been non-stop for three days straight, they had their first kiss. It was after an eighteen hour shift in surgery, during which they lost count of how many wounded they treated, after a while it was all the same. The ones that stood out were those they could do nothing for, there was nine in all. When they finally stepped outside, the fresh air was a shock to their systems, and the winter sun was blinding, but they didn’t care. BJ had led Hawkeye around the back of the hospital, and grabbed a hold of him like he didn’t want to let go. Eventually, Hawkeye had taken his head off of BJ's shoulder, only to find the other man looking down at him with more intent that until that moment he hadn’t let himself hope for. Before he could do or say anything, BJ' a lips were on his, and Hawkeye didn’t think he could ever get enough. So, Hawkeye’s heart had been BJ's for some time.

“C'mon let’s...” BJ started to say, as he picked up his case, only to be interrupted by the ever badly timed announcement system, with news of incoming wounded.

“What did I tell you, on your first day is rule number one?” Hawkeye asked, hands on hips

“Never do or say anything that may encourage any announcement, be it in regards to wounded, the upcoming movie, or what ever the mess tent have decided to try and pass off as food" BJ recited, word for word. Well it was the one thing that Hawkeye had tried to drill into him for the past year.

“And yet, and yet” Hawkeye said, throwing his arms in the air in exasperation.

“Sorry" Beej apologised, as they left the swamp, and their hopes of leaving anytime soon behind.

*********************************************************************

The eight hours in the OR meant they missed the flight to Tokyo, and the reserve flight that Radar had somehow managed to book them on. They knew better than to ask questions.

“I am really good at my job" Radar announced, as he entered the swamp. Hawkeye and BJ had spent the last hour since they left surgery, wallowing in their misery. And, naturally making ridiculous escape plans that would make even Klinger proud.

“We know, Radar" Beej agreed, sitting up.“And the award for understatement of the year goes to" Hawk went on

“Fine, if you don’t want to know" Radar said, turning to leave.

“What is it Radar?” Beej asked, genuine curiosity lacing his voice.

By that point even Hawkeye had sat up in his bunk, as they waited for Radar to break the news that had him bouncing on the heels of his feet. “Well what would you say to the man who told you that there's a chopper on the pad" Radar began

“I’d say, surely we’ve had enough wounded for one day" Hawk interrupted.

“The chopper isn’t to bring anyone in" Radar began again, this time though it was BJ that interrupted.

“Oh, you mean they can do other things, than bring us an endless supply of wounded"

“If you mean things like taking the two of you to Tokyo, then yes” the look on Radar’s had to be about the smuggest thing that Hawkeye had ever seen, it was kind of like adorable.

“Radar, I could kiss you" Hawkeye said, leaping off his bunk, with more energy than he knew he had, and making a lunge for Radar, who’s attempt at retreat were completely futile

“As could I” Beej agreed, as he too made his way over to Radar, who’s smug look had by that point had been replaced by a look of long suffering exasperation, one that said ‘I work with children’. “I’ve got left" he said

“And I’ve got right" Hawkeye added, catching on to BJ's meaning. Before Radar had the chance to get out of the way, the two of them were kissing Radar on each cheek

“The day the two of you act like a normal pair of officers, is the day I know my pigs have taken flight” Radar said, as he was finally able to get out of their reach.  
“You know what this means" Hawk asked, looking at BJ and seeming to forget that Radar was still there.

“We get to go to Tokyo" Beej finished for him, the smile on his face had to be the best thing he had seen in a long time. That smile would be the thing that Hawkeye would be picturing every time he closed his eyes.

“Chopper leaves in half an hour” Radar said, and this time he did manage to get out of the way, though only just. Which meant that instead they ended up kissing each other.

“Sorry Radar" Beej apologised. There weren’t many secrets in the 4077th, but their relationship was one of them. Perhaps the only one. Even Winchester, who knew they shared a bed, because that would have been hard to miss, didn’t know the full extent of their relationship. They knew he had their suspicions though. BJ at one point had bought up the issue of Charles ever letting their secret slip, but he had proven time and time again that he wasn’t one to spread gossip. Frank would have been, unless placated by a never ending stream of bribes. Until, the day where he would inevitably take it that step too far, they wouldn’t have let him get away with it though, Hawkeye knew – they would beat him to it.

“Oh please, there’s nothing that goes on around here that I don’t know about" Radar assured, the smug look back on his face again, only this time it wasn’t adorable. “And before you ask Colonel Potter already knows, and says he’ll be there to wave you off”

“About the chopper, or about us Radar?” Beej asked. Some amount of clarification would be good, Hawk agreed. Though, if their being together was going to be an issue for the Colonel he would have spoken to them about it by now.

“Both” Radar answered “But we are the only two that do" he assured.

They would have to live with that, besides its not as if though Potter and Radar were the sorts to spread gossip around.

“I’m not even going to ask how" Hawkeye piped up.

“Probably for the best” Beej agreed.

“Well, what are we waiting for, a written invitation" Hawkeye said in a sudden burst of enthusiasm; grabbing both their cases, and rushing out of the door.

“It’s the army, they’d want to do it in triplicate" Beej pointed out, as he followed Hawkeye outside.

The three of them made their way across the compound and up to the chopper pad. Somewhere along the way, Potter, Klinger, and Margaret joined them, but Hawkeye was to busy wandering how Radar had managed to pull this off to notice.

Thankfully, BJ did and was memorising the list off things the trio were asking them to bring back. A list that had grown so much by the time they reached the chopper that it was doubtful their return flight would even take off.

“Alright, alright. We’ll get the fabric” Beej agreed, in what was looking like a futile attempt at detaching Klinger from his arm. And really, someone should probably make sure that Klinger didn’t try and grab a hold of the chopper as it took off. After all, it wouldn’t be the craziest thing he had ever done. It might not even break the top ten.

“The blue?” Klinger asked, when BJ finally managed to get free.

“The blue silk, and the black lace.” Beej recited. “We’ll get it Klinger"

Well they would try, at least. They had already lost one day of their R&R, and Hawk didn’t plan on wasting a second of what they had left.

“Ready” The chopper pilot called over

“Behave yourselves” Colonel Potter warned them, with what Hawkeye could only assume was a knowing look in his eyes.

“Always" Hawkeye replied. Though he doubted the tone of his voice, or the smile he had plastered across his face was doing much to reassure anyone.

“Well, at the least don’t do anything that’ll get you dishonourably discharged, or court martialled” Margaret suggested.

“Major, I have never done anything dishonourable” he said, hands on heart in mock offence. The look on Margaret’s face, and well of all of them, said that they knew better, but weren’t in the mood to argue.

“Would you like the window seat, my dear?” Hawkeye asked. Of course, they were all accustomed to the casual affection the two shared, so no one raised an eyebrow

“That’s very kind off you to offer, love" Beej answered. Though why he had reason to cause Hawk's heart to skip a beat in front of an audience, he didn’t know.

Radar, meanwhile, in the time that Klinger had been making sure they knew what fabric to get, and Potter and Margaret had warned them not to do anything that would bring shame to the 4077th (Hawkeye had yet to work out the height of that bar) – had managed strap their cases to the stretchers on either side of the chopper. Which Hawkeye was sure they’d both be grateful for, the space inside of a chopper left a lot to be desired. Although, he reasoned with himself as Beej climbed in next to him, it did have some advantages.

*********************************************

Before, Hawkeye had never flown. Never thought he would get the chance to. Now, though he’d been up in the air enough times to call it a habit. The first time of course, had been that ever fateful day that the army shipped him off to Korea, of which he had hated every minute. There was the hours it had taken, stuck in a flying metal tube; surrounded by people he didn’t know all dressed in military uniforms. He had already decided that khaki wasn’t his colour, and had put his own twist on it. And thought it outlandish, until he met Klinger, at which point he redefined his understanding of outlandish. Eventually, those endless blank faces on the plane had become yet more wounded soldiers he ended up treating. Some of them recognised him. Others didn’t. It didn’t matter wounded were wounded, and none of them should be here.

Flying in a chopper was different again. A lot less space, and you got the chance to speak to the pilot. When Hawkeye had tried to talk to the pilots on his flight over to Korea, and suggest they land a little short, Hawaii for instance, he was taken back to his seat by a couple of MPs. The feel was also different, more responsive than the plane had been that was for sure. In a chopper, you knew you were moving. Whereas in the plane in hadn’t felt like they were moving at all.

His favourite thing, however, about flying on a chopper was the views. For a couple of minutes at least he could switch his brain off, and forget where they were. It didn’t last long, the sounds of the war carried far enough to reach them as well. More than once he had to stop himself from telling the pilot to turn around and go back. The look on the faces of the confused group of medics when they answered Radar’s call of “chopper" would have been something. The 4077th he kept telling himself could survive without them for a few days. Although, by the look on his face Beej was having a similar internal argument of his own.

“Enjoying the flight” Hawk asked, placing a hand on Beej's knee. To the casual observer, it would look as though he was just trying to get Beej's attention, and he was; but they couldn’t see the slight pressure he applied, nor the smallest of smiles that graced BJ's face.

“You know" BJ began, turning to face him, so far Beej had spent their flight staring out of the window. If he was honest with himself, Hawkeye would say that the silence was starting to worry him. “I always hated the idea of flying. You know, trusting something so heavy to keep itself thousands of feet in the air. The fact of simply being so far from the ground. Everything about it" he explained, pausing for a moment. “And then, I came to Korea and I’ve seen an endless amount of choppers ferrying wounded, who would have otherwise died back and forth to hospital.” By this point, Hawk’s hand was still on Beej’s knee, and the touch was reciprocated. “Now, I can’t for the life of me see why I ever hated the idea of flying"

Hawkeye just sat there for a couple of moments, looking out over the horizon. He thought over everything that BJ had just said, it made a lot of sense. Having the choppers meant that it was far easier to get seriously wounded soldiers to the hospitals, that much was true. However, there was another reason behind his suggestion that Beej sit beside the window, other than the leg room. The reason being, was that whilst he was fine with the flying, and the altitude. What he couldn’t do was look out of either side, without the stretchers catching in his peripheral vision, and then all he would see was a wounded soldier. Though he had absolutely no idea about how to explain that to Beej, so instead he settled on “If only none of this was happening in the first place"

BJ's silence spoke volumes to Hawkeye. By saying nothing, he was saying so much. He was saying that he agreed with Hawk, that they shouldn’t be here. No one should be here fighting this war. His silence was also saying that if none of this was happening, then the two of them never would have met. Hawkeye Pierce had never once considered that anything good could come out of being sent to war, but meeting one BJ Hunnicut would have to be it.

Their few moments of peace couldn’t last any longer. Those moments over here were few and far between, and when they did come were so fleeting that you only had to blink to miss it. So, of course it came as no surprise to either of them when Gavin told them there was a battalion aid station five miles away who needed a chopper, and they were the closest.

Hawk and BJ didn’t need to voice their agreement, the look they shared was more than enough. It was more than either man was capable of to go on a break, and knowingly leave people in need of urgent medical care.

All it took was one quick radio call, and just like that the chopper was heading back to the front line of the war.

*************************************************

Chaos wasn’t the right word for what they arrived at. This went beyond any meaning of the word, but at that particular moment in time Hawkeye didn’t have the cognitive reasoning to decide on a better definition. Neither did Beej, who looked as though he was about to fall asleep on his feet.

The aid station had put in the request for a chopper three hours ago, not expecting one to arrive at all. Theirs had made it though, with two experienced surgeons on board to boot. When Beej had introduced them it was like Christmas morning came early, for all of five seconds anyway. As that was all the time they had to spare on exchanging pleasantries, before going in at the deep end.

It was only when he had to work in an aid station that Hawkeye missed the conditions at the 4077th. For starters, they had a roof, and windows – which meant they didn’t have to keep covering the wounded from shell fire with their own bodies every few minutes. The 4077th was, also, ninety percent of the time three miles from the front; here they weren’t more than a hundred yards away. The other thing, of course, was that here they didn’t have the time or the resources to spend on the one soldier like they did back in their own OR, not that they had an endless supply of every thing there. All they could do here was to get people stable enough to be able to travel, and that had to be enough.

“Hawk" Beej started, looking across the makeshift OR they were currently operating in “we really need to work on our definition of R&R"

It was the first time since they had got there that neither of them had someone wounded in front of them. So, Hawkeye was staring down at his blood soaked hands wandering what to do with them.

“Well, if this is your definition of R&R, you’re crazier than most generals; but you’re welcome here anytime" Lieutenant Harris said.

Until they arrived, Harris was the highest ranking soldier in the aid station, and seemingly more than willing to hand over command. Neither of them could really blame him, his command was barely two weeks old, when the previous surgeon had been killed, with no replacement forthcoming; and his medical training consisted of six weeks of basic training, and whatever he could pick up on the front lines. Whereas, theirs had come from years of medical school, and practice. So they agreed, somewhat reluctantly to do it. The one and only order they gave was under no circumstances was there to be any saluting.

“Well, the accommodation and locale leave a lot to be desired, but the people are nice.” It was more than a fair review.

There was debris, and blood soaked rags everywhere they looked. All of which would have to be cleared away, before the next shift came. It seemed futile, after all, it was entirely possible that the moment they finished yet more wounded would be coming in. It was something to do though, and whilst exhausted Hawkeye was still too restless to relax.

There wasn’t much that could be done. Besides from clearing the debris so that none of them would fall over it, and boil the rags and sterilise them as best they could. Everything, had to be sterilised, and here that meant not covered in blood.

“We have a special treat for dinner tonight Captains" Harris said, once they were finished. By that point Hawkeye was no longer restless, and had gone over and stood next to Beej. The two of them were leaning on each other for support, because he was fairly sure that without it they’d both fall down.

“If you say roasted rat, our review is definitely going down to one star" Beej said, but Hawkeye could recognise the somewhat morbid curiosity lacing his tone. Currently, BJ's arm was looped around his back, his hand making small motions across the small of Hawkeye's back. So Hawkeye subtly moved to reciprocate.

“No tinned spam" Harris said. The grin on his face, Hawk had to say might just be the scariest thing he’d seen since coming to Korea, and he had watched Frank operate.

“That’s it zero stars” Hawkeye exclaimed, at the same moment Beej offered to go catch them a rat.

“I know, no one likes spam, but unlike everything else we get here this isn’t surplus from world war one. It was made in this decade" Harris explained. Now, that made a difference. The army’s strict ‘waste not, want not' policy meant that if it was left over from a previous war, it could be used in the next. What they were being offered here though, was produced during this war, and was probably the freshest bit of food, that wasn’t the result of rat hunting, they were likely to get.

“Well in that case, lead on to the dining room" he said, putting the most enthusiasm he could muster into what was left of his voice. That had pretty much disappeared thanks to hours of shouting over shell fire. Even more reluctantly he moved away from Beej, by who’s slight sigh he gathered was just as unkeen on the idea.

The dining room, as it turned out was several overturned crates and that was it. One of the corporals, who’s name Hawkeye had already forgotten, explained that there did use to be a tent, but that got destroyed by shell fire a week ago. So far none of them had the time to put in a requisition for a new one. Even if they did, chances were they’d be sent half a dozen razors; or something equally ridiculous.

There wasn’t much in the way of dinner conversation, beyond the men they hadn’t been able to get stable enough to get away. Those were the ones that were going to stick with him for a while, and he’d already asked, and the place didn’t have a still. Or any alcohol, other than for sterilising. The other reason there wasn’t much of a discussion going on, was that each mouthful took about five minutes of chewing before it could be swallowed. So far Hawkeye had saved someone from choking twice, and Beej three times. It was always reassuring to know that if the Chinese and North Koreans couldn’t kill them, then their own catering core could. When Hawkeye put this idea to the group, he was met by unanimous agreement.

Night had fallen at some point, but Hawkey couldn’t say how long ago. The point was, that night fall meant it wouldn’t be long before the shelling started again. So, he grabbed BJ's attention and suggested they try and get some rest while they could. Harris showed them to the previous surgeon’s tent, which was set slightly farther away than the rest of the camp. He supposed it was about as much privacy as they were going to get.

“You know, Klinger is never going to let us here the end of it when we come back without his fabric" Beej said, sitting down on the floor. There was a couple of sheets on the ground that Harris had explained constituted as beds around here. The actual cots were used for the wounded.

“Nor will Margaret or Potter when we arrive without all the medical supplies either" he agreed, joining Beej on the floor. “I’m sorry our leave got ruined" he found himself saying, even though he knew it was ridiculous to apologise for something that was certainly not his fault.

“Me too" Beej said back. The shy smile on his face made Hawkeye wander what was going through his mind.

He needn’t think on it for long, because he had his answer in the next few seconds. It was BJ’s lips on his kissing him, like he never wanted to stop. He was more than fine with that particular idea.

“I had so much planned for this week" BJ said after a few minutes, and it was obvious that parting was as difficult for him as it was Hawkeye.

“Show me" Hawk insisted, taking hold of Beej's hand to pull the two of them up. He didn’t want to see that disappointed look on his face for a second longer.

In the space of a few seconds Hawk watched as BJ' face went from disappointment to calculating. As though he couldn’t make his mind up of what he wanted to happen first. Eventually, he moved a step closer and put his hands on the backs of Hawk’s thighs. Before he had time to consider what Beej was thinking of doing next, he was being lifted into the air. Instinctively, he wrapped his legs around Beej's waist, whilst the other's arms supported him from underneath

“Oh" he breathed, from this position he had to look down at Beej, who was smiling right back at him. This was different, he trusted BJ absolutely, without question. He did here as well, because he was safe and BJ wouldn’t drop him. It didn’t even look as though Beej was struggling to hold him up, at least not yet.

This was nice, but something told him that what Beej originally had in mind involved far fewer clothes. With that thought came a string of images of exactly how this moment would have played out. The two of them would be in their room in Tokyo, in which there would be two single beds; one of which would go untouched, because they were use to sharing an army cot that was far more crammed. Their bags would be unceremoniously placed on the bed they wouldn’t use. It would take a few seconds, but eventually they would realise that they were alone, and wouldn’t be interrupted. And before they knew it, clothes were being taken off in between a serious of desperate kisses. He wouldn’t work out when exactly, but somewhere along the lines Beej had manoeuvred them so Hawk’s back was up against the wall. And just like in this small tent, Beej would be lifting him up; his legs would wrap around Beej's waist, his arms around his neck. Beej would move away from the wall ever so slightly, and the only thing holding him up would be BJ. They would kiss and there would be nothing in between them. Eventually, Beej would carry him over to the bed, and they would claim each other in a way they never could at the 4077th

“Hawk" he heard BJ say. He pulled himself away from the thoughts of what they were missing. “You’re getting kind of heavy" Beej admitted, even though he made no move to lower him. Hawk supposed he must have been though, because BJ's arms had began to tremble underneath him, and he had been so lost in his own head he hadn’t noticed before just then.

“I think I like that plan” he said, lowering himself down. Once he was stood up again, he wrapped his arms around Beej’s neck once again, and bought him in for a kiss. The feeling in his legs would come back eventually, he was sure. Although, not if Beej continued to kiss him like that.

“I thought you might” Beej whispered, moving just far away enough to be able to talk. “You know, by this point I had us wearing a lot less clothes as well.” His fingers were playing along the waistband of Hawks trousers now, as though he wanted nothing more than to pull them down, but was waiting for something.

“Ah, but neither of us would be covered in mud and blood" Hawk found himself saying. He started to worry that had been the wrong thing to say when Beej didn’t do anything.

“Come on" Beej decided, after a moment. He made a move for their bags, and took out a change of clothes and a towel each. “I know it’s not a bathtub in a Tokyo hotel, but a shower in a battalion aid has to be better than nothing" he said, handing Hawk his stuff.

He would have been stood there for a lot longer, if not for the fact that Beej grabbed hold of his wrist and pulled him out the door. The image of the two of them cleaned and relaxed, led in a hot bath in Tokyo; hundreds of miles away from all the fighting was all he could think about. For two very different reasons.

The one that won out in the end though, was the one that said ‘this isn’t fair'. He told Beej as much, and in return Beej turned to look at him and said he knew.

It was dark as they made away across the camp, and there was no one else around. So, he took a hold of Beej's hand giving it a small reassuring squeeze, which was returned. The sounds of the war reached them, but the action was far enough away that they wouldn’t be the first port of call.

“We could just leave” he suggested, barely above a whisper. It was stupid and crazy to even think it, let alone suggest it. They wouldn’t make it more than a mile down the road before they were caught. Part of him hoped that BJ hadn’t heard him. The other hoped he had, and would tell him it wasn’t crazy or stupid.

“Shower first, desertion later" Beej said “I’m not going on the run with you smelling like that.” It was a fair point, one of many that made Hawk grateful that the two of them shared a similar sense of humour.

The shower tent, as with every other in Korea was a simple construction of wooden beams, and khaki fabric. Really, if they were going to be forced to come here against their wills, then at least some thought could have been put into the design. It was also smaller than the one at the 4077th, and as such only had the one cubicle. Which wasn’t exactly going to be a problem.

They removed their clothes in silence, and threw them into a pile over in the corner. There was barely any space at all inside the cubicle, so when they tried to stand under the shower head, the result was them pressed up against one another.

“Hello, do you come here often?” he asked, it was corny he knew, but couldn’t resist. BJ must have appreciated it though, because in lieu of a reply, Beej was kissing him again. The sort that made him want to take them away from all of this.

“Ready?” Beej asked, making a grab for the chain

“As I’ll ever be" Hawk replied.

The water was freezing as he had expected, and had the two of them shivering under the spray in seconds. It meant that he couldn’t enjoy showering with Beej, because right then all he wanted to do was get clean and out of there as quickly as possible. That he couldn’t enjoy being so close to the man he loved.

Mercifully, there was two bars of soap, which meant that at least they would still get to wash each other. Almost like he had been picturing them doing in Tokyo. Here though, it was a lot more cramped and awkward, and they were near constantly bumping into one another. In the end, somehow they made it work. Hands working over bodies, trying to wash the day’s filth off, as lips exchanged increasingly desperate kisses. Those same hands that lingered on hips, and pulled the other impossibly closer.

He couldn’t have said when exactly, but at some point the water had shut off. “We'll catch our deaths if we stay like this much longer" BJ said a few moments later. As loathe as he was to the idea of putting any space between them, Hawkeye had to agree. Beej grabbed their towels, and they dried and dressed in record time.

When they stepped out of the shower tent, the night was silent. Somehow, it was almost more unsettling than all the noise, because around here silence didn’t last.

After a few steps, Hawk linked their arms together, and when Beej didn’t resist, because normally they were so careful when someone might see them; he rested his head on Beej's arm. As much as he wanted to continue what they hadn’t been able to finish in the shower, he was exhausted and nearly falling asleep as they walked back to their tent.

“What the...” he exclaimed. They couldn’t have been more than a dozen feet from the tent, and for the second time that evening he was being lifted into BJ's arms. Only this time, one arm was under his legs, and the other at the back of his shoulders. BJ was carrying him bridal style, and he wasn’t about to protest.

“Another idea I had for Tokyo” Beej explained, as he carried Hawk through the tent flap as if he weighed next to nothing.

BJ set Hawkeye down, and they immediately picked up where they left off in the shower. Starting with not wasting any time in losing their clothes. With that problem taken care of, they led down. The floor was hard and uncomfortable, but in that moment neither could bring himself to care.

They began with kissing, slow and gentle at first, which soon became more urgent and insistent. Hawkeye was disappointed for all of five seconds when BJ pulled away, but then he started at Hawk’s neck, at first kissing his way along it, and then there was the biting. Nothing rough, just gentle little nips, that if he wasn’t careful would send him over the edge all too soon. He had to find away to switch this back to his advantage.

And that’s when BJ looked up at him, and said “Want you, Hawk” all desperate and needy. Hawkeye didn’t think he would be able to deny BJ anything.

“Yours, I’m all yours" he agreed, and at that they both fell apart.

*****************************************************************

The next few days followed in much the same way as the first. They spent nearly every waking moment treating wounded soldiers, and when the day finally finished crawled back to their tent, falling to the ground exhausted. Other than a long goodnight kiss, they never had the energy for anything more.

“You know, we’re suppose to be back the day after tomorrow” BJ pointed out. It was just after sunset, and their small group was sat around the fire they had going, sharing out the meagre supply of rations.

“Time flies when you’re having fun" he replied, once he had eventually worked his way through a particularly stubborn piece of corned beef. A whole week of leave wasted working somewhere that was worse than the 4077th.

“And no one even knows you’re here" Harris said.

It was true, communications were down, again, and they couldn’t be sure that the chopper pilot that had put them in one of Hell's seven circles had been able to get word to the 4077th. If they didn’t get back some time on the day after tomorrow, then they would be considered absent without leave. Which was sort of ironic, seeing as though they had the leave, but were not absent. They were still doing their jobs.

They spent the rest of the night going over ways they could possibly get back. Mostly it had been a back and forth between them and Harris of...

‘Are you sure you be alright?’ from one of them, followed by...

“Yes we’ll be fine” from Harris, or one of the others.

“One of us could always stay behind” that suggestion had come from BJ.

By ‘one of us’, he knew fully well the BJ had meant himself. There was no way on earth he was going to leave him here, and said just as much. It was one of the things that he and Harris agreed on straight away. The other being that as soon as they got back they would have Radar arrange for a new permanent surgeon. The others were sceptical at first of Radar’s resourcefulness, but they soon managed to put their minds at ease.

Eventually, they cleared away their mess and headed back to the tent. For once it was eerily quiet, which meant that they might for once be able to sleep for more than twenty minutes without being woken up.

“Ah home sweet home" Hawkeye said, as he held the door open for BJ, who gave a slight bow as he passed.

“If we were staying any longer we’d have to decorate a little. You know, make it a little more welcoming” BJ said.

Hawkeye hummed in agreement as he took off his shirt, trying to decide if it was worth saving or not. That was the other thing about working at a battalion aid, limited supplies. And they had ran out of fresh scrubs the day after their arrival. Which meant having to wear their own clothes, which in turn meant finishing the day caked in blood. So far, they had burnt the ones that were beyond saving.

“Next time, we’re getting a place with quieter neighbours” he decided, just as the shelling began in earnest. So much for a quiet night’s sleep.

Hawkeye hated being proven right, because twenty minutes later the two of them were back treating wounded. Harris, who had learnt a lot in the few days they had been there was suturing a head wound, whilst checking for a concussion. Whilst he and BJ were working on a dislocated shoulder. With anaesthetic only being for those with life threatening wounds, they were putting it back into place without, which felt a little medieval. Then again, nearly everything else did, so it was fitting.

“I need some help over here" came a cry from the other side of the camp. Once BJ had finished securing the sling, and the solider assured them that he was alright, they made their way over.

The site that greeted them was one that was all too similar. The soldier in front of them this time, hadn’t just dislocated his arm, he had lost the entire thing. Where the top of his arm should have been was just now an entire mess of bloodied bandages, which they were going to have to remove in order to assess the damage. Slowly they removed the bandages, and saw what lay beneath. It was a mess, as was to be expected. Hawkeye loosely held one of the bandages back against the wound as BJ went to fetch some water to try and clean it, along with some tweezers to try and remove as much dirt as they could.

They worked in silence, until eventually they were able to redress the wound in fresh bandages. It wasn’t perfect, but it was clean and that was all they could do up here. Hawkeye gave the signal that they were finished, and the soldier was loaded onto one of the waiting jeeps.

The next patient they were called to was worse than the last, not yet even having been taken off the jeep. The driver said it was because they were afraid of moving him again. Hawkeye could see why, the guys torso looked like it had taken the worst of the blast, torn open and parts of the intestines coming out. It was a miracle the guy was still alive, Hawkeye thought as he checked for a pulse. It was weak, but it was there. There was also no way the guy was going to survive if they treated him here, and then transferred him back to a MASH. It would take too long, and would probably cause unnecessary stress. BJ seemed to be thinking the same thing, because before he had a chance to say anything, BJ was running over to Harris.

The two of them made their way back over, complete with a bag of medical supplies, just enough to hopefully get them back.

“My god" Harris exclaimed as he finally came within full sight of what they were dealing with. As well as the torso, there was a number of cuts and burns all over the poor guy.

“Yeah" Hawkeye agreed, as he repacked then open wound.

“Listen we might stand a chance of being able to save this guy, but not here" BJ said. It was optimistic, even back at the 4077th their chances were slim, and that was assuming they actually made it back.

“Go" Harris replied, without missing a beat.

“You sure?” Hawkeye asked

“Yes, we can deal with the rest” Harris answered They were still swarmed with wounded, but for the most part they were mild. Ones that would be treated and then sent right back to the front.

“OK" he agreed. He ran off to grab their bags, whilst BJ checked and made sure they had everything they might need for the journey.

Once they had everything loaded, and they knew that their patient was secured, they were on their way.

It was only a few miles between the battalion aid, and the 4077th, but the journey took the best part of the night. Between trying to avoid potholes, the MPs, and the times they had to stop to check on the condition of their. Thankfully, they had someone who knew where he was going in the driver’s seat, otherwise they really would have been in trouble.

Daylight was just starting to show as the 40777th finally loomed into view. And along with it, actual (albeit temporary) buildings they could operate in. Tents with cots they could sleep in, as well as the still. It said something about the last few days that this was the first time he had thought about having a drink since they got to the aid station.  
It was still early enough that when they pulled up outside the main building no one else was around to greet them.

“Can’t a guy go and get his morning coffee before he has a wounded solider on his door step" was the first thing Radar said as he walked out. Of course they didn’t need to go and wake him, this sort of thing was what Radar did.

“You know we should really talk about that accommodation you booked us” Hawkeye said, by way of greeting, because whilst it seemed Radar had registered the fact they had wounded, the fact that he and BJ were back seemed to have passed him by. Which was saying something.

“Oh, I don’t know it wasn’t all that bad. Remember they did have spam from this decade on our first night" BJ pointed out with a smirk. Hawkeye smiled back, knowing it wasn’t just the food BJ was remembering, but what they had also done that evening.

“Morning Radar" Colonel Potter greeted, as he made his way over to them. Still the two of them hadn’t seemed to have noticed that they were back.

“You’re back early” Radar said, finally having noticed that they were there.

“Did the two of you pick a fight in a mud bath last night” the colonel asked as he gave the two of them a look over, before noticing the wounded solider they were tending to.

“Well, I guess everyone’s a loser" Radar said, as they began untying the straps they had been using to keep the soldier secure. At their confused looks , he continued. “We had a pool going on how late you would be getting back”

“A couple of people even bet on you not coming back at all" said Potter, as they showed him what they were dealing with.

“It was a close thing” BJ replied, as they lifted the solider carefully from the jeep.

With more daylight, came more people. The next person who came over was Klinger, who by way of greeting asked where his fabric was.

“Sorry, Klinger the battalion aid station was all out” Hawkeye answered, as they made their way inside.

“So, no you don’t have to worry about any incoming post from an irate mud house owner" BJ assured.

“You spent your leave in a Battalion Aid" Potter asked, if only to make sure he hadn’t misheard what Hawkeye had just said. And he knew he wasn't one for following orders, but the words 'take a week's leave; were certainly not ones he was going to disregard. 

It was also the first real mention that they had not in fact made it to Tokyo. And so Hawkeye set about explaining what had happened as they scrubbed. Which in their case involved once again peeling of a set of bloodied clothes.

“Colonel, Klinger”. Ah, so Winchester was joining them as well. “BJ, Hawkeye” he continued, as if though the two of them were supposed to be there. He also sounded far too cheerful and awake for this early in the morning.

“Morning Charles, did you miss us?” BJ asked

“Not in the slightest” he answered.

“He missed us” Hawkeye said, a grin plastered on his face. He had missed this, the easy banter they shared before going into the operating room. It was good to be back.

**Author's Note:**

> OK, so I haven't written anything for a while, and this is something I've been working on for a while. It's not my usual style, and my first M*A*S*H fic, but I enjoyed writing it. That may explain why the simple idea of Hawkeye and BJ spending a week's leave together turned into this. I had no intention of doing anything then a whole heap of fluff based on the two of them in Tokyo, until the moment they were in the chopper, and things just sort of went from there. Anyway, hope you enjoyed, and thank you so much for reading.


End file.
